Letters to the Editor for June 19, 2017

Staying ahead of crime a goal worth paying for

I love Baker City. It’s quiet and quaint and fairly conservative. After over 50 years of noisy, tax-riddled, crime-infested California, 23 years of which was serving in law enforcement in central California, it’s almost serene.

That being said, central-Cali wasn’t always crime-infested. It was an agricultural hub and dairy/beef basket for the country. Most almonds and fruits come from there.

So what turned the tide into a weekly homicide, drug lab and gang-inhabited domicile? Lack of law enforcement, I’d say. The city tried desperately to hang on to that “small town feel” until it was too late. With almost a quarter million people living within city limits, almost 10 percent were documented gang members .

Gangs that spurred crime and moved drugs into the city and all the crime that comes with drugs. Far outnumbered, all us cops could do was play chase. Never controlling the spree. Cartel sent “shot-callers” to run the numerous gangs living there and the jails were stuffed.

Having shared all of that, I find it almost laughable, in a sad way, to hear people grumble about $2 a month to keep the cops we got. Now I’m never a proponent to raising taxes. Once you do, they are there to stay. And we can point fingers of accusations of mismanagement all day long. Bottom line, we need the cops and sacrificing them in anger over $2 is, well, silliness.

We can always find money for the things we want but how badly do you want to keep Baker peaceful? It’s been my experience that staying ahead of crime is much better than playing catch up. By then, it’s too late and your friendly city is a memory.

Just a humble opinion...

Thomas Wilcoxson

Baker City

Why did the glaciers melt before humans were around?

I do believe in global warming, climate change or whatever you want to call it. However, as I recall, when I was in grade school (granted, this was many years ago — perhaps my memory is somewhat faded) they taught us that the entire North American continent was completely covered with glaciers millions of years ago. Also, if you have ever visited the Grand Coulee country in Washington state, you saw the effects of the tremendous changes brought about by melting ice and runoff.

My question is this: What brought this about? Obviously man had nothing to do with it, as there were none in the area at the time and Earth’s population wasn’t great enough to have had an impact. There were no automobiles, or industrial plants — only cavemen? Building fires by rubbing two sticks together?

I’m really confused as to what happened to those glaciers. Do you suppose God had anything to do with it? If so, why not now? If not, who?